Serena Williams revealed the empowering reason she wore a catsuit to the French Open

After taking some much-deserved time off after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian in September 2017, Serena Williams is back on the court. The star tennis player made her return to the 2018 French Open today, May 29th, looking fierce — in a catsuit no less. And it turns out, Williams had an empowering reason for her choice of outfit.

The two-time French Open winner was clad in a black Nike catsuit with a hot pink waistband for her first post-pregnancy championship. Williams was on her A-game, defeating her opponent Kristyna Pliskova 7-6 (4), 6-4 (and today’s game was Williams’ first on a clay court in two years). The victory advanced her to the tournament’s second round, where she’ll face Australia’s Ashleigh Barty.

"All the moms out there that had a tough pregnancy and have to come back and try to be fierce, in the middle of everything," she told Jon Wertheim of the Tennis Channel. "That's what this represents. You can't beat a catsuit, right?"

And history has shown that Williams + catsuit truly might be an unbeatable combo. As the New York Times pointed out, the athlete wore a similar black Puma catsuit to the 2002 U.S. Open, after which she won four consecutive titles.

Serena’s outfit at the French has many reminiscing about her Puma Catsuit outfit at the 2002 US Open. Nike is not selling today’s outfit, though it is selling a version of “tennis tights.” pic.twitter.com/NIaeWJcBEN